CoinShares: Bitcoin Miner Costs Hit $79,995 in Q4 2025, Facing Break-Even Pressure

On March 26, according to The Block, digital asset management firm CoinShares released a report indicating that Bitcoin miners are facing continuous break-even pressure while accelerating their transition to AI. CoinShares Head of Research, James Butterfill, pointed out that the weighted average cash cost for listed miners to mine one Bitcoin rose to approximately $79,995 in the fourth quarter of 2025. The price of hashrate further declined from $36-$38/PH/s/day to about $28-$30 in the first quarter of 2026, implying continued pressure on miners. The report also noted that three consecutive negative difficulty adjustments occurred at the end of 2025, the first time since July 2022. The combined Bitcoin treasuries of listed miners have decreased by over 15,000 BTC from their peak, with Core Scientific, Bitdeer, and Riot all selling holdings. MARA separately announced on Thursday that it had sold an additional 15,133 BTC. Regarding price outlook, Butterfill stated that a Bitcoin price recovery to $100,000 is “not unrealistic,” at which point the hashrate price is expected to rise to about $37/PH/s/day. If it reaches previous highs around $126,000, it could reach approximately $59. If Bitcoin remains below $80,000 long-term, the hashrate price will continue to fall with rising difficulty, but the exit of unprofitable capacity may stabilize returns. In terms of AI transition, Butterfill anticipates that the transformation of listed miners into the artificial intelligence and high-performance computing sectors is rapidly accelerating, driven primarily by the higher and more stable returns these fields offer compared to Bitcoin mining. The revenue share from AI for listed miners is expected to increase from the current approximately 30% to a maximum of 70% by the end of this year.